8. The Deadliest Diseases are Preventable
This decade, communicable diseases like Ebola make the headlines, but they aren’t the main danger we need to be worried about. A fifth of all American deaths can now be linked to obesity. Disease outbreaks are scary because in many ways, they are beyond our control. Weight management and a healthy lifestyle are much more manageable.
That is why healthcare is making a shift away from treatment of symptoms, and focusing instead on prevention. The healthiest states in America aren’t the ones with the most hospitals or the best medicine—they are just the ones where more people choose to be active and watch their weight. This focus on prevention also means doctors will focus on screening and identifying diseases earlier, so they don’t escalate and become bigger (and more expensive) problems later on. This is already becoming a top priority for insurers and care providers. Today’s generations are the first to be able to start managing an illness before the symptoms become prominent.
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